Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recently released the States’ Start-up Ranking Framework 2019.
As per the ranking, Gujarat has been named as the best performer among states and Andaman & Nicobar Islands has been named as the best performer in the category of Union Territory. Karnataka and Kerala emerged as the Top performers. The framework is based on 7 broad reform areas.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently inaugurated 1.75 lakh houses built under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin in over 12000 villages in Madhya Pradesh.
The Prime Minister also released the ‘Griha Pravesham’ plaque to mark the occasion. The 1.75 lakh houses are a part of the total of 18 lakh houses constructed across the country under the scheme. The work has also been completed in 35 to 40 days, instead of the usual time of 125 days.

Notes:
The Government of India has released a sum of Rs.6,195 crore to 14 states as Revenue Deficit Grant. This is as per the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission.
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal are the 14 states to receive the grant from centre.

Notes:
India has been elected as a Member of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The 54-member Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Elections were held for 2 seats in Asia Pacific states, where India, Afghanistan and China contested. India won the election to secure a seat in the CSW.

Notes:
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India has banned the export of all varieties of onions, except for those in cut, sliced or in powder form.
This has been done to increase the supply of onion in the county and to bring down its market price. The provision under Section 3 of Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 is used by the ministry in this regard.

Notes:
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry has recently issued notification that extended the date of implementation of Toys (Quality Control) Order, 2020 to January 1, 2021.
Earlier, the date of implementation for the compliance of standards was September 1, 2020. The decision has been taken to ease the difficulties faced by domestic manufacturers in aligning with the standards.

Notes:
The state government of Gujarat has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Small Industries Development Bank (SIDBI).
Under this deal, the state aims to increase self-reliance and provide capacity building and market support to the 35 lakh Micro-small-medium enterprises (MSMEs) of the state. Earlier, Rajasthan had partnered with SIDBI to develop MSME ecosystem.

Notes:
The Lok Sabha has passed the Salary, Allowances and Pension of MPs (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
The Bill would reduce the salaries of Members of Parliament by 30 % for a period of 1 year to meet the exigencies arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, the government had brought an ordinance in this regard.

Notes:
The Environment Ministerial Meeting of the G20 countries was conducted under the Presidency of Saudi Arabia. The meeting was held in a virtual mode.
India was represented by Union Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar. The meeting focused on various social and economic issues such as anti-corruption, climate, agriculture, digital economy, education etc.

Notes:
India’s apex judicial body, the Supreme Court of India has recently resolved to ensure that the pending criminal cases against sitting and former legislators would be completed in a time bound manner.
The Supreme Court said that more than 4000 cases against legislatures are pending across the country, of which nearly 2500 pertains to sitting legislatures.